Clothes hanger and clamps therefor

ABSTRACT

A clothes hanger is formed from a single length of wire stock and is bent into various configurations to define clips adapted to receive and retain skirts, pants, and the like. The clips are formed integrally with and as a continuous part of the single length of hanger wire. The hanger is of relatively thin profile so that a large number of such hangers may be hung from a rack. The hanger is suited for use particularly by those who frequently must hang lager numbers of garments such as garment manufacturers.

United States Patent I 1 [451 Jan. 16, 1973 Collin 54] CLOTHES HANGER AND CLAMPS THEREFOR [76] Inventor: Herbert S. Collin, c/o Collin Box &

Supply Co., Newton, Mass. 021 18 [22] Filed: Nov. 5, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 87,265

[52] US. Cl ..223/91 [51] Int. Cl. ..A47j 51/15 [58] Field of Search ..223/85, 88, 91, 92, 95, 96; 211/86, 89, 113, 119; 24/261, 259 GC, 67.9

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,529,742 1l/l950 Robertson ..223/9l 1,260,969 3/1918 2,112,947 4/1938 2,493,131 l/1950 3,401,854 9/1968 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 4 1,128,624 8/1956 France ..24/67.9

Primary Examiner-Jordan Franklin Assistant Examiner-George H. Krizmanich Atto'rneyWolf, Greenfield & Sacks 57 ABSTRACT A clothes hanger is formed from a single length of wire stock and is bent into various configurations to define clips adapted to receive and retain skirts, pants, and the like. The clips are formed integrally with and as a continuous part of the single length of hanger wire. The hanger is of relatively thin profile so that a large number of such hangers may be hung from a rack. The hanger is suited for use particularly by those who frequently must hang lager numbers of garments such as garment manufacturers.

1 Claim, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJAN 16 ms 3.710.993 s um 1 OF 2 FIG. 2

. INVENTOR HERBERT S. COLLIN W% yM /Sw ATTORNEYS Pmmmmmm 3.710.993

SHEET 2 BF 2 INVENTOR HERBERT COLLIN ATTORNEYS CLOTHES HANGER AND CLAMPS THEREFOR BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to clothes hangers and, more particularly, to an improved, versatile clothes hanger having a thin profile yet which is adapted to retain firmly pants, skirts, and the like. Although the clothes hanger may be used by anyone wishing to hang clothes, it is useful particularly to garment manufacturers, garment cleaners, or others who must hang a large number of garments in as compact a space as possible. The invention provides a substantial improvement over garment hangers normally utilized for this purpose, which usually include relatively bulky clips or spring-biased gripping devices which are relatively wide and do not permit the hangers to be compacted with the maximum density along the clothes hanging rack. It is among the primary objects of this invention to provide an improved clothes hanger which avoids the foregoing difficulties presented in currently employed clothes hangers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention is embodied in a wire clothes hanger which may take a variety of forms, each form being defined by a pair of clips disposed at the ends of the hanger. The clips are formed integrally and continuously along the hanger wire. Each of the clips is in the general form of a pair of adjacent loops disposed closely against each other. In the preferred arrangement, the outermost clothes-receptive end of the loops are flared to facilitate entry of the garment between the resilient loops and the clip.

In one embodiment of the invention the hanger is of generally triangular configuration, having a straight bottom bar and a pair of upwardly converging upper bars which extend from the ends of the bottom bar. The upper ends of the upwardly extending upper bars are twisted together and are formed to define a hanging hook. In this aspect of the invention, the bottom bar is bent into a pair of transversely spaced, downwardly depending clips. Each clip is in the form of a pair of elongate loops which are disposed closely to each other. Each pair of loops are formed continuously with each other and with the wire of the bottom bar. The lower ends of each loop pair may be spread apart resiliently for insertion of a skirt or a pair of pants between the loops in each clip. Insertion of the garment may be facilitated by flaring the lower ends of the loops in each clip outwardly away from each other to provide for smooth entry between the loops in each clip.

Another aspect of the invention relates to the formation of a clip similar to that described above at the corner region near the bottom bar and each upper bar. In this aspect of the invention, the clips extend inwardly toward each other just above the bottom bar. The inner, free end of each clip preferably is bent slightly downwardly toward the bottom bar. These corner clips are adapted to receive and retain a garment draped over the bottom bar by engagement of the garment between the bottom bar and the inner edge of each clip. Additionally, the corner clips may receive a garment between the spring loops thereof in a manner similar to the bottom bar clips described above.

In a variation of the invention, the hanger includes a clip located at the corner region between the bottom bar and each upper bar and in which the clip is formed in overlapping registration with the upper and bottom bars at their juncture. This arrangement is suited particularly for use in association with pleated garments. In this variation the bottom bar may be spacedbelow the upper bars or, alternatively, may be disposed at the level of the upper bars and extending in parallel and close proximity to the upper bars. With the latter arrangement, the close proximity of the upper and lower bars may serve further to receive a garment therebetween and grip the garment firmly.

Still another variation of the invention omits completely the bottom bar. In this variation, the opposite ends of the upper bars are simply coiled to form the loops of the clips at each end of the upper bars.

In each of the embodiments, the profile of the hanger is quite narrow and when garments are hung from the hanger, the full profile or thickness is little more than that of the garment itself.

Among the primary objects of the invention is to provide an improved clothes hanger having a relatively thin profile which facilitates relatively dense packing of the hangers from a clothes hanging rod.

Also among the primary objects of the invention is to provide an improved, versatile clothes hanger which is adapted to retain clothes such as pants or skirts in a number of configurations.

A further object of the invention is to provide a clothes hanger having a plurality of clothes engaging hooks in which the hanger is formed from a single length of wire and in which the clips are formed as an integral part of and continuously with the single length of wire.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved, versatile clothes hanger having integral clips for engaging articles of clothing which is of simplified construction.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS that shown in FIG. 3 with the upper bars disposed in a generally straight line and the lower bar located in close proximity to and extending in parallel to the upper bars; and

FIG. 5 is an illustration of still another embodiment of the clothes hanger which omits the bottom bar and in which the clips are formed at the free ends of the upper bars by simply coiling the ends of the upper bars.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIG. 1 shows a wire hanger formed toinclude the clothes-retaining clips of the invention. The hanger is formed from a single length of wire stock'to define the generally triangular configuration having a bottom bar upwardly and toward each other. The upper ends of the upper bars 12, 14 are twisted about each other at the connection 16 and one of the upper bars extends upwardly above the connection 16 to define the hanging hook 18.

In one aspect of the invention, specially formed clips, indicated generally by the reference character 20, are formed at spaced locations along the bottom bar 10. The clips 20 are intended to receive and engage firmly a pair of pants, a skirt or the like. As shown in FIG. 2, each clip' 20 is formed continuously with the bottom bar. Each clip 20 includes a pair of similar loops 22 which are disposed closely to each other and are biased together by the natural resilience of the wire stock from which the hanger is formed. In the illustrative embodiment, as shown, the clips 20 are of elongate configuration and extend downwardly from the bottom bar 10. The lower ends 24 defining the bights of the loops 22 may be flared apart as shown in FIG. 2 to facilitate entry of the garment between the loops 22 in each clip 20.

In each clip 20, the loops 22 merge at a bight 26 defined by the contiguous legs 28, 30. The legs 28, 30 and their associated bight 26 define an upwardly extending finger over which a portion of the garment, such as the cuff of a pant leg, a belt loop or the like may be draped if desired.

Another aspect of the invention relates to the formation of similarly shaped clips 32 formed near the corner regions of the hanger where the bottom bar 10 meets the upper bars 12, 14. In this arrangement, the clips 32 are formed so that their free ends extend generally inwardly and toward each other. The clips 32 are disposed slightly above the bottom bar 10 and their inner ends preferably are inclined slightly downwardly toward the bottom bar to define a slight space 34 therebetween. In the configuration, the free ends of the clips 32 cooperate with the bottom bar 10 to receive a pair of pants or a skirt within the space 34 and to grip and retain the garment therein. As in the previousembodiment, the clips 32 also include an intermediate bight and pair of associated intermediate legs which extend outwardly and away from each other and which may be employed to retain a portion of the garment in the manner described above. Additionally, the inner ends of the loops defining the clips 32 preferably are flared apart to facilitate entry of the garment between the loops of the clip.

The hanger may be formed to include either the clips 2001' the clips 32 or both, with the later configuration being preferred. When all of the clips are employed, the hanger is adapted to retain a plurality of garments simultaneously.

The versatility of the hanger may be increased further by forming loops 36 midway along the upper bars 12, 14 to receive shoulder straps of garments'having such shoulder straps.

FIG. 3 shows a modified version of the hanger having a bottom bar 40, and upper bars 42, 44 which are joined to define the hanging hook 46. The lateral ends of the hanger, at the corner regions where the ends of the bottom bar meet the ends of the upper bars is formed to define a clip 50 of the generally circular configuration shown. The clip defines approximately one and three quarter turns. In this arrangement, the bottom bar is raised in relation to the lower extremities of the clip. The lower ends of the clips may be flared in the same manner as previously described to facilitate upward insertion. This configuration is suited particularly for use with pleated garments such as skirts. The side edges of a folded, pleated skirt are slipped between the loops of each clip and the skirt may be stretched tight at its upper, gripped end.

FIG. 4 shows still another embodiment of the hanger which is somewhat similar to the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 except that the transverse bars 52, 54, which corresponds to the upper bars 42, 44 are disposed in a generally straight line. Additionally, the transverse bar 56, which corresponds to the bottom bar 40 of the em bodiment shown in FIG. 3, is located at the same level as the bars 52, 54 and extends in parallel and close proximity to the bars 52, 54. The end clips 58 are of substantially identical construction to those shown in the embodiment of FIG. 3. This arrangement provides the additional feature that a garment may be inserted through the adjacent bars 52, 54 and 56 and the resiliently grip therebetween. FIG. 5 shows still another embodiment of the invention in which the bottom bar is omitted entirely. In this embodiment, a single length of wire is bent to define the double thickness hanging hooks 60. The wire is twisted at the neck 62 and a pair of bars 64 extend therefrom in opposite directions. The free ends of the bars 64 are coiled or otherwise formed to define a pair of loops 66 which form a clip at each end in the same manner as described above in regard to the previous embodimentsaThe lower downwardly extending ends of each clip are flaired as at 70 to facilitate entry of the garment. The upper ends of each of the clips are disposed and are biased closely against each other by reason of the natural resiliency of the wire in order to grip firmly the inserted garment.

Thus, I have described an improved design for a clothes hanger in which the hanger is formed from a singlelength of wire stock and which also includes a number of clothes-engaging hooks formed integrally with the wire stock to enable a plurality of garments to be hung on the same hanger. Additionally, each of the clothes hangers are of narrow profile which permits them to be hung on a clothes rack or clothes bar with maximum density thus achieving efficiency and storage space required for a particular number of garments as well as the number of hanging bars or racks which may be required. It should be understood, however, that the foregoing description of the invention is intended merely to be illustrative thereof and that other embodiments and modifications may be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from its spirit.

Having thus described the invention, what I desire to claim and secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A clothes hanger formed from a length of wire comprising: v

said wire being arranged in generally triangular configuration having a bottom bar and a pair of upper bars connected to the ends of said bottom bar and extending upwardly therefrom in converging configuration; I a pair of clips formed integrally and continuously on said bottom bar of said wire in spaced relation along said wire, said clips extending downwardly bars, said second pair of clips being disposed above said bottom bar and having free ends extending substantially toward each other, the free ends of said clips in said corners being inclined downwardly toward said bottom bar to define a slight space therebetween, said space being receptive to a portion of a garment, said resilient nature of said wire from which said corner clips are formed being effective to retain said garment in said space. 

1. A clothes hanger formed from a length of wire comprising: said wire being arranged in generally triangular configuration having a bottom bar and a pair of upper bars connected to the ends of said bottom bar and extending upwardly therefrom in converging configuration; a pair of clips formed integrally and continuously on said bottom bar of said wire in spaced relation along said wire, said clips extending downwardly therefrom, each of said clips including a pair of substantially identical loops connected to each other and to said wire, said loops having free ends extending away from said wire, said loops being disposed closely to each other and being biased toward each other by the natural resilience of said wire, the ends of said loops in each clip being receptive to a portion of a garment; and said wire being formed to define a second pair of clips located in the corner regions defined by the ends of said bottom bar and their adjacent upper bars, said second pair of clips being disposed above said bottom bar and having free ends extending substantially toward each other, the free ends of said clips in said corners being inclined downwardly toward said bottom bar to define a slight space therebetween, said space being receptive to a portion of a garment, said resilient nature of said wire from which said corner clips are formed being effective to retain said garment in said space. 